United Nations Daily Highlights, 03-04-23

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From: The United Nations Home Page at <http://www.un.org> - email: unnews@un.org

OF THE NOON BRIEFING

BY HUA JIANG

DEPUTY SPOKESWOMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

OF THE UNITED NATIONS

UN

HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Wednesday, April 23, 2003

ANNAN, IN VIENNA, DISCUSSES MIDDLE EAST, IRAQ AND CYPRUS

Secretary-General Kofi Annan this morning met in Vienna with Austrian Foreign Minister Benita Ferrero-Waldner, who described an initiative Austria hopes to take to help Iraqi children traumatized by war. They discussed the future UN role in Iraq, efforts to form a Palestinian government under Prime Minister Abu Mazen, the prospects for reviving Cyprus peace talks and the UN's relations with the city of Vienna, home of the third UN Headquarters.

At a press encounter afterward, the Secretary-General said he expected to see some considerable improvements in streamlining the oil-for-food program for Iraq in the coming weeks.

Asked about the dispute over the return of UN weapons inspectors to Iraq, he said that the Security Council resolution on the books states that the inspectors are to go back, although he added the Council is free to amend that resolution.

Asked about Syria, he said, I am encouraged to notice that the Americans themselves have indicated that Syria is cooperating with them and there has been a change of tone, which I welcome.

The Secretary-General then went to Parliament, where he met first with the President of the National Council, Andreas Khol, and then with leaders of all the political parties. He briefed them on Security Council deliberations on Iraq, and emphasized that Council unity is essential.

In the afternoon, he went to the Federal Chancellery, where Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel hosted a luncheon in his honor. After lunch, he and the Chancellor met for half an hour for a discussion of European Union enlargement, Iraq, the Balkans, the Middle East and Cyprus.

The Secretary-General then left Vienna for Geneva, where he is to address the Commission on Human Rights on Thursday.

UN INTERNATIONAL STAFF RETURN TO IRAQ

For the first time since March 18th, UN international staff has returned to Iraq.

This morning a team of six entered northern Iraq from Turkey. They are expected to be in Dohuk this evening. Another group of 28 are expected to travel from Turkey to Erbil Thursday. They will concentrate on basic food services, assistance to internally displaced persons and mine action; then they will expand rapidly their activities to issues related to health, and education.

Meanwhile, a World Food Programme team visited Nassiriya in southern Iraq earlier this week and found out that food prices have skyrocketed --inflated by 250 to 700 percentin local markets.

In Baghdad, local World Health Organization staff, along with Iraqi health officials, is rebuilding medical laboratories to analyse blood and other samples. These laboratories are crucial to the timely identification and consequent control of diseases. WHO is also working urgently to re-start the activities of Baghdads blood bank.

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees says that despite the unsettled situation in Iraq, some 150 Iraqi refugees living in Saudi Arabia's Rafha camp have indicated a willingness to return home as soon as possible. UNHCR staff is meeting with those refugees and with some of the more than 5,200 other Iraqis in the camp who are watching the situation in their homeland, apparently also hoping to go back when the situation stabilizes.

The agency says it would prefer that any repatriation to Iraq should wait until there is proper security and a stable supply of humanitarian aid.

ANNAN TO ATTEND UN CHIEF EXECUTIVES BOARD MEETING

After he visits Geneva Thursday, the Secretary-General will go to Paris, where the spring 2003 session of the UN systems Chief Executives Board will begin on Friday.

The Boards session, the first of its two meetings for the year, will address the follow-up to the Millennium Summit, and strategies for sustainable development, and will review the follow-up to the outcome of last years World Summit on Sustainable Development, with a particular focus on energy and water issues.

Other issues under consideration will include UN support for Africas development, the linkages between AIDS and food security and the erosion of critical institutional capacities in AIDS-affected countries.

Following their meeting, the executive heads of the UN system attending the spring meeting will convene a brief retreat on Saturday, and they have also been invited by French President Jacques Chirac for a meeting on Saturday afternoon.

SECURITY COUNCIL HEARS BRIEFING ON KOSOVO

The Security Council this morning began an open meeting on Kosovo, on which it was briefed by Assistant Secretary-General Hédi Annabi on the Secretary-Generals latest report, which highlights the continuing transfer of responsibilities to Kosovos Provisional Institutions of Self-Government.

That report, Annabi said, shows that Kosovo has some way to go in establishing representative and functioning institutions, particularly since work has been hampered by political struggles. Meanwhile, ethnic violence and crime seem to be on the rise after a decline last December.

There has been steadily increasing pressure on the UN Mission in Kosovo from all sides, Annabi added, and the Mission has been balancing the competing, and often conflicting, desires of the leaders and people in Kosovo without giving fodder to extremism. He noted calls for an end to the UN Missions interim administration, and asked for the Security Councils support in rejecting such calls.

UN HUMANITARIAN ENVOY VISITS COTE DIVOIRE

The Secretary-General's Humanitarian Envoy for the crisis in Côte d'Ivoire, Carolyn McAskie, has begun a mission to the region.

McAskie is on an eight-day mission to evaluate the current humanitarian situation and launch a new humanitarian appeal for that country.

The United Nations estimates that 750,000 Ivoirians have been displaced as a result of fighting between rebels and the Government of Côte d'Ivoire that broke out in September 2002.

The resources of families hosting the displaced are being gradually overwhelmed as fighting has caused Cote dIvoires economy, once the engine of West Africa, to stagnate.

SARS: WHO EXTENDS TRAVEL ADVISORY TO BEIJING AND TORONTO

The World Health Organization today extended its travel advice related to the outbreaks of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS, to Beijing and Shanxi Province in China and to Toronto, Canada.

As a measure of precaution, WHO is now recommending that persons planning to travel to these destinations consider postponing all but essential travel. This temporary advice is an extension of the travel recommendations previously issued for Guangdong Province and Hong Kong, China.

Starting today, the WHO SARS team will begin daily briefings on SARS events, which will take place at 4:00 p.m. local time in Geneva.The speakers will be announced at noon Geneva time on the WHOs SARS website.

As of today, a cumulative total of 3,947 probable cases with 229 deaths have been reported to WHO from 25 countries.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

UN MISSION IN THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO: The UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo announced today that it was increasing the number of peacekeepers in the Ituri province, in the northeast of the country. This deployment is part of a re-enforced UN civilian and military presence in an effort to strengthen security in the area. The UN Mission hopes this will give an additional boost to the work of the Ituri Pacification Commission.

REPORT LINKING DIET AND CHRONIC DISEASE: The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) today launched an independent expert report on diet, nutrition and prevention of chronic diseases. The report will serve as the basis for developing a global strategy to combat the growing burden of chronic diseases.

style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black;mso-ansi-language: UN BUDGET: Chad has paid its 2003 regular budget contribution of more than $13,000 to become the 76th fully paid up Member State.

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